Paper-Back Planters: Recycling Books to Pot Indoor Plants
Have books finally met their match with the Apple iPad, or is it just another fad like the Amazon Kindle? Readers may find some poetry in these volumes regardless of whether they are willing to give up their favorite paperback companions: potted plants put into scooped-out sections of beautiful old hardback books.
Gardenkultur (via Inhabitat) makes a simple recycling project out of even the most complex novels, but carving into the heart of a book, sealing off the resulting space and putting seeds of little trees or other plant life into the curved void. Of course, this would work just as well as a do-it-yourself gardening project for those green-thumbed enough to provide proper moisture barriers for their own plants.
But if a picture is said to be worth one thousand, at how many words do we value a wee plant? For some of us, though, it may be hard to see what looks like the defacement or destruction of a book taking place, but perhaps it is better that some of the vast volumes of the world are at least transformed into an intentional green habitat than simply being left to grow mold on their own in a closet.
Hopefully these books were beyond repair and those ripe only for reuse. If you try to make them yourself to fill with light-leaved little trees, fluffy ferns or small and steadfast cacti, just make sure the seeds will not outgrow their new literary stronghold when the plants grow up. Only time will tell whether these will be bestsellers that take root and grow into a trend – perhaps for the true bibliophiles they will fall short, fail and wither like so many green genres and eco-friendly designs of the recent past.
OOoorly?! How to Build a Wood Chair Using No Materials
Talk about cutting back on waste, this may be the ultimate eco chair concept: it actually ‘uses’ no new materials – heck, it does not even need recycled materials to work. How do you make one? Simply cut a hole in an existing wood floor or surface and take a seat!
For safety (to avoid splinters) you may want to use just a little bit of extra material, though: perhaps some plastic to line the hole before you drop a leg in. Dubbed the OOoo chair for a reason, this is some seriously minimalist design work from Decker + Yeadon (New York).
OK, so this design might be a bit on the silly side, but it is as much about making a point as it is about a piece of furniture. Buildings are the biggest source of energy waste in the world by far – and our seating elements are no small part of that problem. Whether it be for green reasons or cost-saving purposes, it is worth considering how much time, power and materials is used in these simplest of interior design objects.
Aluminum, plastic, steel and foam used to manufacture most new chairs for homes and offices rarely comes from a renewable source – objects created from recycled wood, plastic or other materials are few and far between. While all of these are seen as ‘green’ it also takes energy to recycle them. Our floors and surfaces, however, are ready and waiting to be turned into voids into which we can slot our legs … the only question is: even if you can cap it when you are not using it, what will the downstairs neighbors think?
Water Balloon Luminary: Clever DIY Candle-Making Crafts
Crafting decor objects is a holiday tradition that some might find a bit dull for more adventurous designs lovers … unless (perhaps) it involves hot wax, a water balloon and the slight risk of having it all blow up in your face.
The process is remarkably easy, though not without danger – fill a balloon with water, dip it up to the water level in melted wax and repeat. Go above the waterline and it might just pop. After a few times down and back, the exterior surface should be sufficiently waxed to form a rounded solid candle-worthy shape that can hold a small votive or tea light.
After a few iterations, the resulting (cooled) candles should be tipped over and drained – and the water balloon remnants discarded. And to keep it level: setting the bottom on a solid surface during the process and the top after the balloon is removed should do the trick. For more science-minded types or slight thrill-seekers, these candles might make for a more festive holiday craft project than
most
most
Source:dornob
Easy & Cheap Do-It-Yourself Bent Wood Lamp Design
The results of do-it-yourself furniture projects are rarely so elegant as this remarkably cheap DIY bent-wood
lamp project. A piece of scrap acrylic and birch veneer facing were the basic starting materials. A heat gun was used to bend the acrylic into the position shown above. all easy to find and relatively trivial to work with yet the result is a remarkably attractive DIY lamp.
lamp project. A piece of scrap acrylic and birch veneer facing were the basic starting materials. A heat gun was used to bend the acrylic into the position shown above. all easy to find and relatively trivial to work with yet the result is a remarkably attractive DIY lamp.
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